ISTANBUL (Marmara)–At a time when the Turkish government has stepped up efforts of strengthening ties and cooperation with Persian Gulf Arab states such as Oman and the Arab Emirates–Syrian Security Minister Mustafa Tlas has announced that Turkey is a dangerous enemy of the Arab world.
Tlas said in an interview that the reasoning for his statemen’s was the recent close military and governmental relations pursued by Turkey and Israel–and therefore–Turkey has entered the list of Arab enemies.
Tlas continued–saying–that instead of embracing the Arab countries of the region as neighbors and friends–Turkey–turned its back on them signing a controversial military agreement with the Israeli state last year.
The Syrian minister made these statemen’s in an interview with the highly-respected Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper–emphasizing that Turkish military presence in northern Iraq is a great example of the results of the Turkish-Israeli military alliance.
The Syrian leader went on saying that Turkey has created a buffer zone in northern Iraq with Israel’s help–and this buffer zone will ensure the participation of Turkey in the transit of Iraqi oil through its northern section.
Turkey–according to the minister–is also actively trying to increase its aggressive presence in southern Lebanon.
According to Tlas–Iran is also extremely concerned with Turkish-Israeli relations–and he noted that Iran is a friendly state–which continues struggling against intrusive Zionism.
In conclusion–Tlas called on all Arab states of the region to create a security zone–because–as he said–there are no hopes of any tangible developmen’s in the Middle East peace process.
There has not been a response from any of the Arab states in the region.
The Arab Emirates and Oman have not yet made a determination on how the current Turkish-Israeli relation will effect their respective relation with the Turkish government–and no plans have been announced in this regard.